Previews

The Matrix: Path of Neo

So, with all of the good comes some bad. The combat system, while handling quite phenomenally, could use a few tweaks here and there. For example, a few fights left Neo swinging furiously at air instead of an opponent. The gun targeting system is really good, but the melee combat is looking like Path of Neo's bread and butter. The hand-to-hand fighting needs a targeting system that's on par with the gunplay. Hopefully, it's something that the Shiny team will be able to work out before the game goes gold in November.

Also, as good as the gameplay seems to handle, the question arises as to whether Path of Neo will keep the attention of gamers. It is, at its core, very much a twitchy, button-mashing action game. Will the levels be diversely fun and challenging enough to take it past being just "cool" and becoming a great game? It's not a bad game thus far, but the question of its ability to maintain the strong momentum of the demo levels and not disappoint like its predecessors will loom over it until it hits stores.

How Deep Does the Rabbit Hole Go?

So far, The Matrix: Path of Neo is shaping up to be a huge winner for Atari and Shiny. The fast and furious hand-to-hand combat, while in need of a few minor tweaks, is impressively complex. Visually, the game looks like what most Matrix fans would dream that a game on this generation's hardware would look like. The role-playing elements, especially the zany Atman Principles, look like novel approaches to the gun upgrades and usual options of other action games. Hopefully, Shiny will overcome the bad buzz of the last Matrix title and give gamers the Matrix game that they've always wanted.